MPs were elected to lead, but they are opting for turmoil and disaster

Whether Britain leaves the European Union and the manner of that departure, are the most consequential decisions that British politicians will face for a generation. The choices our leaders and representatives are making this week are as important as any they will make in their careers.

And as things stand, with the European Research Group of Conservative MPs and most Labour MPs pledging to vote against the proposed Withdrawal Agreement, the House of Commons will tonight deliberately and knowingly vote for the country to take an economic, political and constitutional leap into the unknown. MPs who were elected to lead will instead bring the country’s future down to the roll of a dice, unable to say with any certainty what the results of their vote will be.

Theresa May will, of course, carry the can for this in the end, which might be soon. She’s the PM, that’s how it works. She made errors for which she will answer to history: her original red lines did not reflect the close referendum result or Britain’s best economic interests; her willingness to trigger Article 50 without a clear negotiating objective; her failure to communicate her policies to her colleagues and the public; her decision to vote against her own deal on the Brady Amendment and thus burn away the last of the EU’s faith in her as a negotiating partner.